mobanmarketThe Challenge Cup group stage finishes this weekend with the fourth and final round of the tournament as teams battle for qualification spots.
Here’s the team news and our predictions for the action.
Friday
Bristol Bears v Perpignan
Prediction: Bristol Bears by 20
The teams:
Bristol Bears: 15 Rich Lane, 14 Deago Bailey, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 James Williams, 11 Siva Naulago, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Fitz Harding, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Joe Batley, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Ellis Genge (c)
Replacements: 16 Fred Davies, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Chris Vui, 20 Jake Heenan, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Jack Bates
Perpignan: 15 Ali Crossdale, 14 Nino Seguela, 13 Edward Sawaileau, 12 Pato Fernandez, 11 Lucas Dubois, 10 Alexandre Perez, 9 Matteo Rodor (c), 8 Valentin Moro, 7 Ewan Bertheau, 6 Taniela Ramasibana, 5 Andrei Mahu, 4 Bastien Chinarro, 3 Akato Fakatika, 2 Mike Tadjer, 1 Samir Bououda
Replacements: 16 Victor Montgaillard, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Vatang Jincharadze, 19 Posolo Tuilagi, 20 Victor Moreaux, 21 Lenny Viola, 22 Keanu Desrues, 23 Lilian Pichon
Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Ru Campbell (Scotland), Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Toulon v Zebre Parma
Prediction: Toulon by 18
The teams:
Toulon: 15 Marius Domon, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Waisea Vuidravuwalu, 12 Duncan Paia’aua, 11 Jiuta Naqoli Wainiqolo, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Jules Coulon, 6 Mattéo Le Corvec, 5 Brian Alainu’uese, 4 Swan Rebbadj, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 2 Teddy Baubigny, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Bruce Devaux, 18 Davit Mtchedlidze, 19 Matthias Halagahu, 20 Raphael Lakafia, 21 Benoit Paillaugue, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Gervais Cordin
Zebre Parma: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Erich Cronjé, 12 Enrico Lucchin (c), 11 Jacopo Trulla, 10 Tiff Eden, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Taina Fox-Matamua, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Guido Volpi, 5 Josh Furno, 4 Jan Uys, 3 Muhamed Hasa, 2 Marco Manfredi, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio
Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Alessio Sanavia, 18 Ion Neculai, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Giovanni Licata, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Franco Smith Jr, 23 Luca Andreani
Venue: Stade Felix Mayol
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 GMT)
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Dave Sutherland (Scotland), Ross Mabon (Scotland)
TMO: Ben Blain (Scotland)
Glasgow Warriors v Bath
Prediction: Glasgow Warriors by 5
The teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Sione Tuipulotu, 12 Huw Jones, 11 Kyle Steyn (c), 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Alex Samuel, 3 Lucio Sordoni, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Lewis Bean, 21 Tom Gordon, 22 George Horne, 23 Duncan Weir
Bath: 15 Orlando Bailey, 14 Max Ojomoh, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Piers Francis, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Miles Reid, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Fergus Lee-Warner, 4 Will Spencer, 3 Johannes Jonker, 2 Tom Dunn (c), 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Valery Morozov, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Tom Ellis, 20 Richard de Carpentier, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Matt Gallagher, 23 Jonathan Joseph
Venue: Scotstoun
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Luc Ramos (France)
Assistant Referees: Evan Urruzmendi (France), Christian Coussan (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
Saturday
🔴 Here's your match-day 23 to take on @avironrugbypro on Saturday (13:00 UK)
🗞️ https://t.co/UyOpL8c4yI
Cyhoeddiad o'r tîm i wynebu Aviron Bayonnais prynhawn fory ✈️#ABvSCA #ChallengeCupRugby #YmaOHyd pic.twitter.com/qwWr8qqT1A
— Scarlets Rugby (@scarlets_rugby) January 20, 2023
Bayonne v Scarlets
Prediction: Scarlets by 12
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The teams:
Bayonne: 15 Yohan Orabe, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Peyo Muscarditz, 12 Guillaume Martocq, 11 Bastien Pourailly, 10 Thomas Dolhagaray, 9 Maxime Machenaud (c), 8 Mateaki Kafatolu, 7 Esteban Capilla, 6 Jean Monribot, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Geoffrey Cridge, 3 Chris Talakai, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Pieter Scholtz
Replacements: 16 Thomas Acquier, 17 Swan Cormenier, 18 Badri Tsikhistavi, 19 Aïtor Hourcade, 20 Denis Marchois, 21 Guillaume Rouet, 22 Jason Robertson, 23 Eneriko Buliruarua
Scarlets: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Jonathan Davies (c), 11 Steff Evans, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Carwyn Tuipulotu, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Vaea Fifita, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Shaun Evans, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Morgan Jones, 20 Sione Kalamafoni, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Ioan Nicholas
Venue: Stade Jean Dauger
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Filippo Russo (Italy), Riccardo Angelucci (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)
Benetton v Stade Francais
Prediction: Benetton by 8
The teams:
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Edoardo Padovani, 13 Nacho Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Mattia Bellini, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Michele Lamaro (c), 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Seb Negri Da Oleggio, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Federico Zani
Replacements: 16 Manuel Arroyo, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Henry Stowers, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Jacob Umaga, 23 Marco Zanon
Stade Francais: 15 Kylan Hamdaoui, 14 Sione Tui, 13 Julien Delbouis, 12 Alex Arrate, 11 Stephane Ahmed, 10 Léo Barre, 9 Arthur Coville, 8 Juan Martin Scelzo, 7 Sekou Macalou, 6 Giorgi Tsutkiridze, 5 Juan Johan Van der Mescht, 4 Nathan Huguen, 3 Paul Alo Emile, 2 Laurent Panis (c), 1 Sergo Abramishvili
Replacements: 16 Lucas Peyresblanques, 17 Clément Castets, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Ryan Chapuis, 20 Sitaleki Timani, 21 Harry Glover, 22 Morgan Parra, 23 Pienasi Dakuwaqa
Venue: Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Jack Makepeace (England)
Assistant Referees: Mike Hudson (England), Peter Allan (England)
TMO: Dean Richards (England)
Brive v Cardiff
Prediction: Cardiff by 10
The teams:
Brive: 15 Mathis Ferté, 14 Kevin Fabien, 13 Seta Tuicuvu, 12 Setareki Bituniyata, 11 Arthur Bonneval, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Enzo Sanga, 8 Retief Marais, 7 Said Hireche (c), 6 Tevita Ratuva, 5 Lucas Paulos Adler, 4 Julien Delannoy, 3 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 2 Motu Matu’u, 1 Wesley Tapueluelu
Replacements: 16 Nathan Fraissenon, 17 Daniel Brennan, 18 Tietie Tuimauga, 19 Oskar Konstantin Rixen, 20 Sacha Gue, 21 Léo Carbonneau, 22 Enzo Herve, 23 Wesley Douglas
Cardiff: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Aled Summerhill, 13 Mason Grady, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Jason Harries, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Tomos Williams (c), 8 James Ratti, 7 Ellis Jenkins, 6 James Botham, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Lopeti Timani, 3 Kieron Assiratti, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Rhys Carre
Replacements: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Seb Davies, 21 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 22 Lloyd Williams, 23 Jarrod Evans
Venue: Stade Amédée-Domenech
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
Assistant Referees: George Selwood (England), James Clarke (England)
TMO: David Rose (England)
🟢 𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙈 𝘼𝙉𝙉𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘾𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙉𝙏 🟢
Here's the Connacht 23 aiming to make it 4/4 in #ChallengeCupRugby 👊
Full story: https://t.co/AH8FqLf7sq pic.twitter.com/ndJhagrYqn
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) January 20, 2023
Newcastle Falcons v Connacht
Prediction: Newcastle Falcons by 5
The teams:
Newcastle: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Ben Stevenson, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Pete Lucock, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Michael Young (c), 8 Carl Fearns, 7 Philip van der Walt, 6 Gary Graham, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Logovi’i Mulipola
Replacements: 16 Charlie Maddison, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Freddie Lockwood, 20 Pedro Rubiolo, 21 Josh Barton, 22 Josh Thomas, 23 Adam Radwan
Connacht: 15 Mack Hansen, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Byron Ralston, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Alex Wootton, 10 Conor Fitzgerald, 9 Colm Reilly, 8 Jarrad Butler (c), 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 5 Josh Murphy, 4 Leva Fifita, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Shane Delahunt, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Darragh Murray, 20 Ciaran Booth, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Tom Daly, 23 Tom Farrell
Venue: Kingston Park
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy (France)
Assistant Referees: Thomas Charabas (France), Stéphane Crapoix (France)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)
Sunday
Dragons v Lions
Prediction: Dragons by 2
The teams:
Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Steff Hughes (c), 12 Max Clark , 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Will Reed, 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Taine Basham, 6 George Nott, 5 Ben Carter, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Bradley Roberts, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements: 16 Brodie Coghlan, 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Sean Lonsdale, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Jack Dixon
Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Quan Horn, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 André Warner, 8 Emmanuel Tshituka, 7 Emile van Heerden, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Darrian Landsberg, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Michael van Vuuren, 1 JP Smith
Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 20 Ruhan Straeuli, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Morné van den Berg, 23 Rynhardt Jonker
Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Adrien Marbot (France)
Assistant Referees: Thomas Chereque (France), Stephane Boyer (France)
TMO: Christophe Berdos (France)
Cheetahs v Pau
Prediction: Cheetahs by 4
The teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Dan Kapepula, 13 David Brits, 12 Reinhardt Fortuin, 11 Munier Hartzenberg, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Rewan Kruger, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Friedle Olivier, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Victor Sekekete (c), 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Mzwanele Zito, 20 Roelof Smit, 21 Branden de Kock, 22 Robert Ebersohn, 23 Andell Loubser
Pau: 15 Théo Attissogbe, 14 Clément Laporte, 13 Yvan Reilhac, 12 Nathan Decron, 11 Daniel Ikpefan, 10 Thibault Debaes, 9 Clovis Lebail, 8 Jordan Joseph, 7 Martin Puech (c), 6 Sacha Zegueur, 5 Mickael Capelli, 4 Guillaume Ducat, 3 Siate Tokolahi, 2 Romain Ruffenach, 1 Ignacio Calles
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Rémi Seneca, 18 Guram Papidze, 19 Lekima Tagitagivalu, 20 Thibaut Hamonou, 21 Reece Hewat, 22 Dan Robson, 23 Tumua Manu
Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Alex Frasson (Italy), Manuel Bottino (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)